Blessed With A Curse
by MaybeWolf
Summary: In which Tori is relentless, Robbie is evasive and Cat's brother dons a black Afro wig. T for a couple of curses...not literal curses though, just horrible, horrible words.
1. Pursuit: Self Esteem

**"_Tell me when the world is ending__, y__ou won't be there still pretending  
I was just someone you would love to love, but never love"_**

* * *

A levy can only take so much before it breaks.

The tiniest fragment of a smile, that's all it took in the end. The levy flies apart and Robbie finds his feet carrying him on unfamiliar tides. Tori's smirk splinters into a grin as she catches site of Robbie, and gee she's pretty he thinks.

Thumb between his teeth, Robbie tramples through the halls and toward where Tori is standing beside her locker. Before he knows it, Robbie has come to a halt right in front of her, bathed in the light of his favorite smile. It's not even that he's operating under the delusion that she quirks her lips in a special way for him. No, he knows Tori happily dishes out sunshine to anybody that looks even the slightest bit upset. That's kind of the reason he loves it though. With Tori he's not a freak or a nerd to be pitied, he's just somebody she smiles at.

All the while Robbie's mind is wandering; words are coming to life on the tip of his tongue. When they sail off his lips, Robbie is almost as shocked as Tori. Almost.

"I uh, I love you."

When he realizes what he's said, Robbie's eyes fly to the ground and he refuses to meet Tori's gaze. When he tries to chain his fingers together, he can't even do that right. One of his fingernails catches under another, and he can already feel a bruise beginning to form. Robbie's limbs feel all loose and disjointed, and he decides it's pretty fucking apt. His whole world is about to get wonky. Really wonky.

"Robbie-" His name slips off Tori's lips. There's this look on her face, a crooked line more specifically. It's nothing but bad news, and Robbie wants more than anything to smooth it out and say he was just kidding.

He doesn't though. In the instant that Robbie feels something coil in his chest, the pavement feels him turn heel and run. He struggles to run in a straight line, forcing himself not to let his disappointment spill over until he's sitting inside of a beaten up old convertible. Rex is already waiting for him of course, a sneer on his wooden lips.

"Coward." The puppet hisses, lying limply next to Robbie. It's the perfect epitaph to this sad affair, so Robbie remains silent as he cranks his car into gear.

Peeling out of the parking lot, Robbie just feels numb. Only when Hollywood Arts hangs in the horizon, does Robbie feel his heart giving it's occasional sad little lurches again. During a red light, Robbie's eyes stray to a dangling trinket hanging from his rear view mirror. Within its glass walls is a picture of the whole gang.

Robbie remembers the tale behind it well. The picture had been taken right after they'd finished building Cat's muffin float. Despite the struggles, they'd all been so proud of themselves. Robbie recalls Sikowitz buzzing around and snapping what felt like a thousand pictures. He especially recalls Tori hanging off his shoulder for the best fifteen minutes of his life. She'd insisted on getting pictures together, but Robbie's never seen any of them so he doubts she bothered to get them printed.

"It's green man, hurry up and go." Rex's nasal voice pries Robbie away from his memories. Forcing his car into gear, Robbie is actually thankful for Rex's intrusion as they head toward the horizon.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you dummy?" Rex spits, roaring with laughter at the site that confronts Robbie the next morning.

Robbie brings his palm to his brow and rubs away a bead of sweat. Standing at the opposite end of the hallway, it's not just a brunette girl with perfect golden skin. It's not just Tori Vega. It's the shards of his unattainable dream. Tori's speaking to Cat in hushed tones and every once in a while, Robbie catches her eyes lingering on him. They're all soft and glassy. Vulnerable in a way that makes Robbie wonder why he didn't stay and listen to her.

When Cat ducks out of sight, Tori flashes a watery smile in his direction, the edges of her lips barely shifting. Robbie's heart gives a particularly hard kick as he does it, but he forces himself to sink into the crowd. It hurts when he sees Tori's sad little smile dip even further, but Robbie knows cutting himself off from the infection is the best course of action. Besides, she'd only cut herself trying repair the jagged edges of what he's turned himself into.

He doesn't see Tori for the rest of the day after that, purposely keeping to the parts of Hollywood Arts that Tori hasn't ever really ventured into. It's not that bad he supposes. The burnouts are too busy laughing at nothing to ask many questions. Their emerald haze curls around Robbie, but he doesn't fall into its embrace. He's got way too much homework this week to spend any time at all soaring over the clouds.

* * *

By the time Friday crashes over him, Robbie's grown weary of ducking Tori's coffee orbs and lingering at the fringes of society. Briefly, he considers a fake ID and a new identity in Northridge. Robbie's pretty sure Sikowitz knows a guy, too. One time, he had found the man's wallet after class. It had been full of licenses that did not say Erwin Sikowitz on them in that particular instance.

"No way, Wayne's World 2 was the best." A droning voice argues, pulling Robbie out of his thoughts and into a state of irritation. He's really not interested in hearing about whether Wayne's World 2 is better than the original or not again. It's been the central topic of discussion within this foggy realm since his arrival several days ago.

"I need money!" A manic voice shrieks, registering at a pitch just above car alarm. As the voice's owner begins to babble, Robbie's filled with a very specific brand of confusion. Geez, he almost feels as though he's heard this very same story in the past six hours. While the crazed lunatic continues to babble, Robbie's eyes slowly widen. As the harrowing tale near its conclusion, Robbie's irises blow wide apart at the realization that he might be in the presence of Cat's mythical brother.

"Is your last name Valentine?" Robbie squeaks, wedging his question into a brief passage of silence.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Comes the indignant response to Robbie's question. Yup, this guy is definitely a Valentine. As the words continue to erupt forth, Robbie can only shake his head. Even with the absence of a mane of rust colored hair, this guy reminds him entirely too much of Cat.

"Nothing! Just I…I'm Robbie. You need money right?" Robbie stammers, extending an arm uneasily. A tense moment hangs in the air as Steve regards him without budging an inch. His mouth is drawn into a thin, unfriendly line and Robbie's got the smallest urge to just cut his losses and run. If the things Cat's said about her brother are even remotely true, that would probably be the smartest course of action.

"Steve…and yeah, I need money. What's it to you?" Is the eventual stone-faced response. It's calm and measured, everything that Steve's initial ramblings hadn't been. Unconsciously, Robbie grips Rex tighter and feels the puppet's disapproval reverberate off his chest.

"So, how do you feel about black afro wigs?" Robbie answers uneasily, screwing his arms even tighter around his body. He knows asking a Valentine for help might not be the brightest idea he's ever come up with, but it's either that or growing roots in the shadows by this point.

The prospect of having Cat's brother carry out this plan for him is slightly less unappealing than spending the rest of his life hearing about Wayne's World.

* * *

Cat's brother, loves the black Afro wigs.

During one of the fifteen-minute blocks Tori is chasing Steve, Cat tells him so. In fact, he's apparently growing his hair out with the intent of getting a perm in the future. Robbie wonders how long that plan will last before another thought knocks it out of Steve's head.

For almost two weeks, Robbie finds himself living within those blocks. Fifteen minutes is the average amount of time it usually takes Steve to shake Tori from his trail. Tori, it turns out can be easily fooled by matching clothes and a cheap wig because she hasn't questioned a thing yet. Every time Robbie ducks out of sight and sees Tori's brown swirls dart in Steve's direction he feels a little worse about the whole thing though. He'd expected her to chase him for a day, two at the most. It's bordering on four weeks now though, almost a month.

And then 31 days into the ordeal, Tori catches Steve.

Robbie's not aware of this fact at first, but when Steve hauls him by the neck towards the Janitor's closet, the truth begins to unravel. As the heavy door slams behind them, Robbie can see the serious look in Steve's eyes. It's not unlike the first day they had met. That's what makes Robbie realize something's happened though; this look hasn't appeared on Steve's face since then.

"Robbie, I gotta quit man. She caught me." Steve mumbles, his thick eyebrows meeting just above his nose. Steve dips his gaze, and as he pulls a thick mop of curls from his head, the shadows swallow his features for a moment.

"W-why? You can still run. Just run faster." Robbie pleads, shaking his head and refusing to take hold of the wig Steve is jabbing in his direction. Steve blinks in his direction at this and frowns even more deeply. Robbie wishes he wouldn't do that, it makes Robbie feel even worse about going through with something ridiculous like this in the first place.

"She is _way_ too sad, man. She's chasing you for a reason. I think you've just gotta let her catch you." Robbie struggles to fathom sage advice like that coming from Steve's lips, but it just happened.

And then Steve's ducking his head and disappearing with a sigh. Robbie's eyes fall to the wig Steve dropped near the door on his way out. Screwing his eyes shut, Robbie tries not to think about the bad feeling tearing up his chest. Time seems to pass slowly in the janitor's closet, and Robbie wonders just what in the hell he's going to do now. Tori's probably more rabid than ever in her quest to talk things out. The last time she'd caught him in her gaze, Robbie had noticed the frenzy within Tori's coffee colored orbs. Ignoring Rex's thoughts on the matter, Robbie dismisses it as an obsessive curiosity and nothing more.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Robbie throws his hands over his eyes as a wide block of light sears his retina. Even temporarily blinded, Robbie recognizes the voice though. Blinking back his vision when he hears the door shut again, Robbie finds himself in a confined space with the devil herself.

"Uh, hey Jade. How's…er, how are you?" He mumbles, slinking into a corner and as far away from Jade as possible. Her shoulders are rising and falling in a way that carves jagged lines in the limited light of the Janitor's closet.

Jade stares at him for a long time, ages actually. Taking note of her deep breaths, Robbie recognizes one of her anger management techniques when he sees it. Multiplying his own irritation at being found in here by an atomic bomb, Robbie realizes just how much anger is swirling around within Jade at this moment. Taking that into account, he's actually kind of impressed that she's keeping a lid on it.

"I uh, do you want to make some money?" Robbie asks, approximately twelve minutes later. Jade has tossed aside her bag and is now eating a burrito. Robbie's taken it as a sign of peace, or at least grudging acceptance of his presence.

"I'm not interested in doing _that_ with _you._" Jade snarls, arms falling across her chest like concrete. Robbie pushes a hard, rattling laugh out at the idea, because it's just that ludicrous. Robbie's so terrified by Jade that he's not even sure if his equipment would be up for any kind of interaction with her.

"Uh, no. Not that." Robbie retorts, adamantly shaking his head. The venom on Jade's lips dries up, and interest clambers onto her reluctant features. As the words come to life on Robbie's lips, he can scarcely believe what he's saying. Jade's lips push into a hard smile as Robbie hauls her into the tangled mess that his life has become.

What kind of person sets Jade West on the person they love?

* * *

The next four days seem to limp by, wounded by Jade's constant shrieks at Tori. The moments of peace that follow in the wake of those outbursts are a tainted kind of peace. Tori's silent, but deathly so. It's during these times that Robbie steals a glance at her. Tori's coffee colored orbs are always darkened during these moments, her brow creased above her nose. Robbie wants more than anything to smooth out those lines, but he knows doing so will only bring about the conversation that he's so desperately avoiding. He'll continue living this cursed half-life just to hold onto the delusion that Tori will eventually fall in love with him.

The fifth day is the worst though, like a bullet has been put in the week's ambition. The hours just barely pass by, and more than once Robbie catches Tori's sad little smile from the corner of his eye. By the time Robbie's sitting in his rusted out excuse for a car, the weather reflects his mood. Drops of rain tumble from the sky like boulders, and Robbie's vaguely thankful that he'd managed to pull to soft-top to his car in the morning for once.

It's Friday, so Robbie finds himself straying from his usual path home. He veers into a place that he only feels a cold detachment towards. As Robbie rolls to a halt, his father's towering home looms high over the horizon at the end of a dead end street. This frown that's never too far from his lips etches itself deeply into his lips as he knocks on the door. Robbie makes several hours of small talk that's just barely skin deep with his father. Eventually, the man excuses himself when his phone goes off and Robbie finds himself hurtling down the highway again.

When he arrives home, for some inexplicable reason, Robbie's eyes flick to the bushes that line the garden. The branches at the edge are crushed, and Robbie's sure they weren't like that this morning. Swallowing the fear that's so desperately trying to climb into his throat, Robbie digs himself out of his seat and into the pouring rain. His feet pound against the sodden surface of the lawn a little faster than he'd like, if he's honest.

When he hauls the remaining healthy limbs of his mother's favorite bush aside, Robbie's heart gives a particularly painful clench at the site behind their veil. He screws his eyes shut for a second, before trying the blink away the image that's been burnt into his eyes. The girl's chestnut hair is spilling all over her just barely moving shoulders. She's soaked to the bone and her skins lost that golden hue that Robbie loves about her.

"Tori, what are you doing here?" The words leave Robbie's lips hesitantly, and his hand flies out so fast he hasn't even noticed what he's done until Tori's flesh is beneath his fingertips. She doesn't fly in opposite direction like he's expecting. She doesn't even lift her head to meet Robbie's gaze.

"Tori, ignoring me right now isn't very mature. It's freezing out…here." Robbie shoots for certainty, but his voice dribbles into the air with all of the authority of a wet noodle. Rattling his hand of Tori's ice cold shoulder, Robbie feels the panic within him beginning to build. By the time his finger get tangled in Tori's loose curls, Robbie's in a right state. She's not moving. His hands are entwined within her hair, and Tori isn't moving an inch. Something is wrong.

"Tori, you have to get up." Robbie's voice scratches and catches in his throat as he tries in vain to drag her upright. He can't believe that this has happened just because of his stupid little feelings.

Tori's limbs are like lead when Robbie cradles her against his torso and stands upright. As twigs crackle beneath his feet, Robbie tries not to peer down at her to often. Tori's makeup is running down her cheeks, and the kohl rivers only make him feel worse. The fifteen steps that it takes Robbie to reach the front door comprise the longest journey of his life.

Bumping the door open with his hip, relief washes of Robbie as he realizes that somebody else might be home. Dragging his gaze over the living room, Robbie catches sight of his older sister Cassandra. Her gaunt frame is draped over the kitchen counter and she's reading a thick looking textbook. Robbie really hopes they've already covered enough in his sister's nursing degree for her to be of some assistance. He's trying to pry some words out of his throat when Cassandra catches sight of the girl in his arms and begins to stomps forward.

"Robbie, what in the actual fuck?" Cassandra's voice bounces off the walls and Robbie struggles against the urge to fly in the direction of his car. The hospital's only 45 minutes away. Robbie thinks his sister might yell at him for that long, judging by the way that she's rubbing circles into her temples. Robbie's only seen Cassandra enact this action a handful of times before. None of those times ended in anything but misery.

"I-I don't know. I found her in the bushes…p-please help sis." Robbie's desperation bleeds into his voice, and apparently it's enough to snuff out the anger blazing within Cassandra. The glare on his sister's face fades into the past and her eyebrows upturn in concern. No longer attacking the ground with each step, she rushes over to where Robbie is standing.

"Little brother…" Cassandra sighs, catching the left side of her bottom lip between her teeth and forging ahead. Robbie's waiting for the explosion, but his sister remains calm as she stoops down to inspect Tori's condition. Cassandra grazes the back of her palm over Tori's brow and apparently that's enough.

"Take her and lay her down on your bed, I'll handle the rest." Cassandra announces, back straightening in an instant. Robbie's mouth opens and closes, protests against his sister's order coming to life on his lips. He can think of a million good reasons to take Tori somewhere else, anywhere else. But when the time comes for these reasons to leave Robbie's tongue, only silence seeps through his lips.

"Now!" Cassandra's voice flashes across the room and jars Robbie into action. Like a wind up toy, he takes stunted little steps towards his bed. When he leans down to place Tori on his comforter, Robbie's shocked to realize her arms have locked behind his neck. Tori's elbows are resting just barely on his shoulders, and Robbie wonders how he hadn't noticed sooner.

"Alright, good job. In case she wakes up, what's this ones name?" Cassandra asks, the edges of her voice softening again. Blinking away his lamentations over being so foolish, Robbie spirals in the direction of his sister's voice. Feeling as though he's unraveling, Robbie manages to squeeze out one word before lapsing into silence again.

"Tori." He utters, reattaching himself from Tori's grip and standing upright. A small whimper bristles through her lips and a slight crease works it's way onto her brow. Robbie's ridiculous heart decides that whimper was clearly meant for him and gives a little flip. Cassandra catches the grimace that Robbie uses to chase the feeling away. Shortly after, her thin eyebrows fall over her eyes and she gives a slight tut.

"Okay, now go and get in the shower. I don't want two patients." Cassandra closes the distance between herself and Robbie, hanging an arm over his shoulder as she speaks.

When Cassandra curls her arm around Robbie's arm and gives him a reassuring little rattle, he guesses that it's her way of telling him everything will be okay. Dragging a deep breath into his lungs, Robbie nods his head slowly, because it will be. It's got to be okay. Ignoring the faint rattle of his heart, Robbie turns away from his room and heads toward a sanctuary of steam and soap. He's got one foot into the pristine white room, when Cassandra's voice rumbles along the floorboards.

"Ah, the famous Tori Vega…"

* * *

**First new thing I've posted in a while. It's a little out there, what with Tori chasing Robbie so relentlessly. If she feels a little too persistant, remember that Robbie is the narrator. So you know, he might be reading a little too far into some things and not enough into others...**

**I'm trying out writing in 3rd person, because Tell Your Story Walking is just about the raddest thing ever, and made me want you give it a crack. So, er...yeah. **

**The conclusion to this little fic will be up in the next few days. Review away my pretties!**


	2. Caught: These Colors Bleed

"Oh god, she's awake." Robbie squeaks, diving for the hallway when Tori's eyelids flutter. By the time they crawl open, Robbie's already slinking down the hallway and toward the kitchen.

Standing in front of the microwave, Robbie lingers in place as sbowl of instant soup spirals around beneath a stark orange light. Staring into space, the sight of Tori's face is seared into Robbie's vision. No matter what he's doing, he sees her pale skin and lifeless limbs. He remembers carrying Tori inside, when it had almost looked as though a tin of ivory paint had been spilled over her skin. It's with bitter regret that Robbie thinks that the golden glow in her complexion was missing because of him.

The microwave squawks that it's done, reeling Robbie's mind into the present. Hauling the door open, he peers down at the soup doubtfully. Cassandra had insisted that he prepare some for Tori before ducking out for work. Ambling back in the direction, Robbie wishes he'd gone shopping yesterday. Tomato Soup isn't good enough for Tori, but then again anything he could give her couldn't possibly be enough. Idly, Robbie wonders maybe if he were holding something gourmet, he'd feel better about these last few steps.

Probably not.

"I uh, soup..." Robbie chuckles nervously, lifting the tray in his hands. The forced smile on his lips is practically leaping around and begging to be noticed as he takes a step forward and lurches through the doorway. Tori's eyes widen almost unperceivably, and her eyebrows link together at his announcement. Before he's able to kick the thought free, Robbie's mind tells him Tori's never looked more adorable.

"It's tomato." Robbie blurts out, screeching to a halt beside where Tori is huddled beneath the covers of his bed. Even behind the blanket covering her mouth, Robbie can see the smile playing at Tori's lips. It's written in the way that her eyes crinkle. When she hauls herself upright a moment later, Tori's lips surface from behind Robbie's comforter and they're still curving upwards.

"Man, I do love tomato soup." Tori chirps, looking more like herself than before. Her skin isn't quite golden yet, but Robbie thinks that it might be on the verge of bronzing. Placing the tray into Tori's outstretched arms, Robbie whirls around and retrieves his computer chair to sit on. As he lowers himself into it, Robbie tries to fight the smile from his lips. It's kind in vain though, watching Tori happily empty her bowl of soup is the happiest he's been in a month.

"Robbie, is this your room?" Tori asks a few moments later, pausing between her latest spoonful of soup and her next one. Those words are all that it takes to short-circuit Robbie's brain apparently. His tongue flails in vain, searching for the right words to address the fact that Tori Vega happens to be in his room, in his bed. Somewhere deep within Robbie's skull, his last functional brain cell laments Tori's waking up. Things were so much easier when she was resting.

"Uh, yeah." Robbie eventually mumbles, giving a slow nod and peering adamantly into his lap. Maybe if he doesn't draw attention to it, Tori won't realize exactly what she's laying on, maybe-

"So I'm in your bed…" It's as if fate itself points in Robbie's direction and snickers from somewhere behind Tori's voice. All of the serenity he'd just been feeling evaporates, replaced with a thick smog of awkwardness.

Naturally, he's incapable of forming real words in this new atmosphere. Fortunately enough though, a series of squeaks rattle past Robbie's lips. He's fairly sure that they're giving Tori a satisfactory amount of detail in regards to his feelings on the matter because her lips are curling upwards again. The crinkle around Tori's eyes chases away Robbie's apprehension, and for a moment things are normal between them as she finishes her soup.

Good things just have a way of not lasting.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" Tori's words clamber into the air, and blow away the slight awkwardness that had been lingering in the air. When the dust settles, Tori's leaning back on her elbows. Her chestnut locks are tumbling over her shoulders, and there's a sense of hesitance in her eyes. Robbie stitches a smile to his lips and hacks out a little laugh, but it only reeks of desperation.

"I'm…I haven't been. How about some more soup?" Robbie eyes flicker between Tori and her empty bowl. Ripping it from it's place on Tori's lap, Robbie holds the small piece of Tupperware between them like a buffer. Robbie realizes she's probably full, but he's hoping that if he flashes the bowl before Tori's eyes enough times that she'll laugh and lose focus.

"Robbie, can you just answer me?" Tori counters, her bottom lip plumping and enveloping most of her upper. It's Tori's award winning pout, and it's put Robbie's defiance to the sword time and time again.

"C'mon Tori sooup." Robbie coos, watching Tori's expression shift as he blows the words into the air. Her lips quiver, and that crinkle Robbie's so familiar with works its way onto her face. Try as she might, a stray giggle creeps into the air as Robbie continues to wave the bowl between them.

"Hey Robbie, where's my blouse?" Tori asks idly, releasing the comforter from where it had been wedged in her armpits. Robbie's so busy diving for the ground that he barely hears the final syllable of Tori's question. The bowl clatters to the ground beside him, and it's not until Tori's laughter floats to the ground as well that Robbie's heart uncoils.

"Robbie, I'm wearing a wifebeater…" Tori intones dryly, hanging her head over the side of the bed amid a mane of swirling brown locks. Laying face first and feeling the carpet bristling against his face, Robbie screws his eyes shut in a grimace of realization. His eyes had actually trailed over those charcoal straps less than an hour ago. Tori Vega just has a way of disconnecting his brain from his actions, he supposes.

"Any chance I could borrow a sweater? My shoulders are-" The question has barely cleared Tori's lips, and Robbie is again on the move. This time he dips his head into a large closet, hanging in there for a brief moment before re-emerging with a canary yellow sweater in tow.

"It's…er, thanks Rob." Tori's face sours for an instant when she catches sight of the woollen monstrosity in Robbie's grasp.

Robbie remains impassive though, having had the same reaction when his Mamaw had first handed it to him as well. Tori regards the garment doubtfully as she slides her arms into two stretched out yellow corridors, and still looks sceptical when her face disappears into a yellow abyss. Robbie mentally counts down the seconds before she emerges, and feels equally nonplussed when Tori's eyes have widened in amazement.

"It's sooo comfortable!" Tori squeals, tugging the rest of her hair through the neck of my sweater. Flapping her arms excitedly, Tori wriggles slightly and gets herself comfortable again. Wearing a sweater in that hue, and making those kinds of movements, Robbie thinks she looks a little like a baby chicken. He doesn't mention it though and simply takes a seat at the foot of his bed, feeling unsure of how Tori might take the comparison.

"So uh…no offense, but why were you barely conscious and shivering outside of my house?" Robbie asks, speaking slowly, as if to inspect the inherent insanity of those words. He's still struck by how utterly surreal the situation is when Tori lets out a sigh from beside him on the bed.

"So uh, no offense, but why have you been avoiding me for the last month?" Tori parrots, forcing her face into a pale imitation of how it looks when she's teasing somebody. She's never been a very good liar, and this is no exception. The eyes might be the window to the soul, but in this case they're in insight into the intensity beneath Tori's words.

"I have not…" Robbie croaks, his words getting caught up in the guilt lining his throat. His eyes fall to his lap, and even though he's not watching her, it's obvious Tori hasn't accepted his answer as the truth.

"Robbie, you spent two weeks hiding in that gross corner that smells like pot. Then you found some crazy guy to dress like you and lead me around the school. When I finally caught him, you sicked Jade on me whenever I tried to get within ten feet of you. I think it's safe to say you've been avoiding me." Robbie feels a tightening around his throat, as if each word through Tori's lips is a condemnation. He feels as though he's waiting within the gallows for his execution. What worse, is that Robbie knows he deserves his fate.

"I've been, er…expanding my social circle?" Robbie mumbles into his lap. The last words of a liar.

"You're in denial." Tori states blandly, her voice sounding far too hollow for a girl usually brimming with optimism. Shaking his head slowly, Robbie tries to clear his thoughts and drag forth another reason not to talk about this with Tori. When all that he dredges up are reasons to get this over with, Robbie pulls his phone into his palm and delays the inevitable by posting a slap message on Rex's wall.

"I'm sorry for all of that, you know. I just didn't know what to do..." Tori's expressionless front flinches and begins to crumble as concern floods her features. As he watches Tori's eyebrows burrow together in the center of her forehead, Robbie just marks off another reason she deserves better than what he's got to offer.

"Robbie, just tell me the truth. I promise not to say a word until you're done." Robbie swallows the urge to cry when Tori's words curl around his ears. He's been dreading this moment for what feels like an eternity, and now it's upon him. This lingering silence the only remaining barrier between Robbie's heart and the firing squad.

"Pinkie promise?" He squeaks, reaching out to Tori, pinkie extended. It's childish and stupid, a world away from what's about to leave his lips. Somehow though, when Robbie feels Tori's pinkie interlock with his, he feels just a little bit better about things. Maybe it's some of the optimism he'd flirted with as a child seeping into his mind through his actions.

"Pinkie promise." Tori states, intensity in her eyes. Feeling his heart clunking against his chest, Robbie wonders if Tori's only taking this seriously for his sake, or if she's actually…nah. Robbie vanquishes the thought by falling against the block of bed not occupied by Tori's feet. Peering up at the roof, he's confident that his mind is clear enough to speak.

"So, I told you I loved you…" Robbie sees Tori bristle from the corner of his eye, and it's enough to halt him in his tracks for a moment. Moments into the silence, Robbie hears the rustling of sheets and feels the bed moving beneath him.

Lifting his head, Robbie catches sight of Tori slinging herself upright. Pushing the blankets away, Tori hangs her feet over the edge of the bed and shuffles sideways until she's echoing Robbie's posture. She's so close that Robbie can almost feel the heat radiating from her body. It's the heat that ignites his voice once more. For some reason, Tori's proximity frees Robbie of his fears rather than shackling him to his nerves for once.

"I just…I wanted to tell you before graduation. But then, I don't know…As soon as I said it, it just…it felt like the absolute stupidest idea ever." Gnarling his hands into fists, Robbie tries to keep his tone even. In spite of his best efforts, regret and bitterness surface in the breaks between words. But then he catches Tori from the same corner of his eye. She's trying her best to curl her lips into something reassuring. When that fails, Robbie feels her scoot closer still, her golden thigh brushing against the black denim of his jeans.

It's enough to drag Robbie's gaze entirely onto Tori. Her lips brighten into something resembling an unforced smile and she reaches out. Robbie's lips fly apart with a silent gasp because it's him and Tori, him and Tori and in his room.

It's him and Tori alone in his room, and she's holding his hand.

"I…you don't have to. It's okay, really." Robbie murmurs, peering down at where Tori's laced her fingers through his and half-heartedly trying to negotiate her freedom. Tori doesn't budge though, instead shaking her head and curling her fingers around Robbie's even further. Even though he knows it's strictly platonic, Robbie finds himself speaking more freely as he explains the ins and outs of his one-sided love affair.

"…and I'm not telling you any of this because I've deluded myself into thinking you've got some hidden feelings for me or anything…I just needed you to know how awesome you are." Robbie concludes a few minutes later, feeling drained. Tori's held his gaze this entire time and he's utterly exhausted. Severing eye contact with his last word, Robbie shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath. He intends to stay like that for a long time, maybe forever

"D'aww." That's all it takes, one singular sound and Robbie's eyes fly open again. Tori's still peering in his direction, and there's this goofy little smile on her face. Robbie wonders if maybe he just saw a heart shaped twinkle deep in those dark swirling orbs. Nah, his mind is just playing tricks. That's got to be it.

"I think I'm done." Robbie mumbles, more to himself than Tori. It feels as though a weight he's been carrying for the past month has fallen from his shoulders.

"Now will you hear me out?" Tori asks, eyebrows cutting into her nose as some of the levity leaves her features. When Robbie's mouth begins to open, Tori reaches over and she jabs him in the stomach to silence his protests. What could be an act of malice is rendered utterly forceless by the way Tori's lips are curling up playfully. Robbie's missed that expression, looking at it is almost like spending a day in the sun after a months of torrential rain.

"I…yeah, sure." He squeaks, rubbing circles over the area Tori had struck. It's not painful or anything, Robbie just wants to etch every detail of this moment in his head. Robbie almost feels like Tori and him could be a couple in this brief instance, their playful banter making him feel at ease. But then again, it's often the calmest before the worst of storms.

"Robbie, I don't love you-"

"I gotta go." Robbie whimpers, wrenching his fingers away from where they'd been so comfortable only a few seconds before. As he scrambles to his feet, Robbie almost thinks he can hear the shards in his chest rattle. He's already trampling toward the door and preparing to barricade himself into the bathroom when something takes hold of his wrist and wrenching him to a screeching halt.

Turning to his wrist, Robbie sees slender golder fingers encircled around his pale skin. Swallowing hard, he finally dares to lift his gaze to meet Tori's face. Her lips are drawn into a thin, tight line, and Robbie's jaw falls open because she looks about one more footstep away from weeping. A moment blinks past, and Robbie finds himself standing face to face with Tori again.

"Robbie I let you speak, can you let me finish this one sentence? I can't say I love you because you haven't even asked me out on a date yet." She chokes out, straining to make her words float through the air like usual. The silence that follows in the wake of Tori's words drifts through the room, pricking at Robbie's ears and disturbing his attempts at analysing them. There's got to be a catch, he convinces himself.

"What are you saying?" Robbie squawks, having reached a dead end in deciphering Tori's logic. Every time he tries to picture asking Tori on a date, it ends in horrible, horrible failure.

"I uh, maybe we could go and see a movie sometime?" She suggests, rolling her shoulders and actually looking uncertain. Tori smiles weakly, but it's missing the blinding flash her grins usually contain. Robbie's way too preoccupied amid a storm of flailing limbs and a short circuiting brain to really notice anything more in her body language though.

"The movies some time? Tori…It's not that I wouldn't like that, I'd love that. I just…I can't accept your pity." Robbie shakes his head, biting out the words. A month ago he'd probably have jumped at the chance to see a movie with Tori, but now he realizes he'd just be torturing himself. He's been torturing himself and Tori for an entire month now, he doesn't think he can handle another evening of it.

"It might be totally pathetic that I'm in love with one of my best friends, but I'm not a charity case. Guys like me just weren't meant to date girls like you, it's something trying to learn to deal with. I just…I need time, not a token date before you ship me off to the friendzone forever." Each syllable is like broken glass coming from Robbie's throat. One of the many jagged pieces of his heart wants him to just shut up and accept what Tori's trying to do for him because it's from a good place. The rest of those shards just want to be put back together again.

"I'm not-" Tori looks pained, screwing her arms against her chest and pulling her eyebrows over her nose. Robbie's face immediately softens, and apologies begin to fly off his tongue. Just because he's broken doesn't mean he's got to stomp on Tori as well.

"Tori, I know what you're doing an-" Robbie never finishes that thought, because suddenly he doesn't know a thing.

Rationale thought tumbles somewhere out of reach when Tori grabs Robbie by the collar and their lips collide. It's brief, but for the entire 7 seconds that Tori's lips are pressed against his, Robbie's tumbled through the gates to heaven. He's too lost in the lights to even do anything like coil an arm around Tori's waist, too lost to do anything but just feel.

"W-wha…" Robbie asks, lost in a daze as Tori pulls back from him. He could swear the walls of his room don't generally tend to spin. Then again, maybe that's normal after you've kissed Tori Vega. He's not really sure, most of his brain is still recovering.

"I'm not taking pity on you, Robbie." Tori states, lifting a hand to her mouth and looking more breathless than Robbie had expected. At least she's capable of speech, though. For Robbie words come out in jumbled heaps and sentence trip over each other when he tries to speak.

"W-why?" He finally pushes out. It's not eloquent or very specific, but then again, he's never been much of an orator around girls.

"Your ranting was impeding my ability to redefine your definition of…girls like me was it?" Tori explains simply, tossing her hands up in air quotes as she recalls Robbie's description of her. Panic instantly surfaces in Robbie and the words that wouldn't stick to his tongue are suddenly flying out of his mouth in a torrent.

"I didn't mean it like that! I'm just…Talking to girls is hard, like worse than trying to learn with Sikowitz in charge. It's just that you're like so-" Abruptly Robbie again careens to halt, arms flailing towards Tori in a feeble attempt to articulate her beauty. She bites down on her lip and her cheeks burn with a crimson tinge.

"Really?" She asks, looking hopeful. Robbie would think it was cute if it wasn't so absurd that she's flattered by his compliment. Licking his lips, Robbie can taste Tori's lipgloss on them, along with a hint of tomato. His fondness for that particular brand of soup grows immeasurably.

"Yes! You're freakin' beautiful Tori." Robbie's not entirely coherent when he speaks, but it's a step up from jabbing his fingers in Tori's direction.

The volume of his words makes him wince and feel like an idiot once more, though. Shortly afterwards, Robbie's too busy burying his head in his hands to pay much attentions to Tori's reaction. It's only when Tori's slender fingers pry Robbie's hands apart that he sees the red flush that's crept onto her cheeks. A smile tugs at Robbie's lips when he finally realizes that Tori's eyes are crinkled in that way they do when she's happy. The room grows quiet again, but this time the silence isn't so stifling, so Robbie lets it linger for as long as Tori's content.

"You know Robbie, I think you're kind of-" Tori whirls into a motion echoing his own, and it might be the most endearing thing Robbie's ever seen. The smile that had been threatening the edges of Robbie's lips almost engulfs his entire face. Coming to a halt, Tori tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and flashes Robbie a sheepish little smile. As she scuffs her foot against the floor, Robbie realizes Tori is waiting for something. Clenching his hands, Robbie thinks he would give anything to know exactly what she's hoping to hear. As it is, Robbie tries to suppress the fluttering in his chest long enough to ask her a question.

"Do you maybe, if you're not busy wannaseeamovie?" Robbie barely pushes the words out before his lungs fail him. Tori raises an eyebrow, before conducting a little jig over the bridge of her nose.

"I think I can find the time." Tori answers through a crooked smile. A moment skips past, and then Tori's looking at him again. Like, really looking at him. For the first time, Robbie recognizes that there's something other than pity in Tori's expression. Her lips have parted only a fraction, but the white flash that peaks out almost blinds Robbie. He's never been looked at this way. He's never had a girl freeze up and start leaning towards him.

Robbie practically hears cackling from the sky when Tori's phone goes off and loudly ruins whatever moment they have been sharing. Just the butt of another cosmic joke, Robbie thinks bitterly. Darkened thoughts of what he's missed out on cloud his mind, and he's too busy glaring daggers at the ground to pay attention to anything else for the next few moments. It's not until two feet fall into his line of site that Robbie's eyes travel upward again.

"I have to go home. Do you think you could drive me?" Tori states, waving her phone in Robbie's direction and looking rather displeased by this latest development. There's a line of text across the screen, and judging from all of the exclamation marks, Robbie figures it's from Trina.

Words abandon Robbie, and he finds himself nodding mutely. Tori's frown disappears, and she grins wildly. Before Robbie can prepare himself, Tori explodes forth and throws her arms around him. She laughs happily, and Robbie finds himself echoing that wonderful sound. He's not entirely sure why she's clinging to him, but there are worse fates in the world than having Tori Vega attached to you.

They eventually disentangle their limbs moments later amid apologies from Tori and a coughing fit from Robbie. When his throat stops convulsing, Robbie just can't hold back. He leans forward a kisses her again, soft and sweet, barely a caress of the lips. Tori's eyes blow wide open, and Robbie's sure he's gone and done it. He's ruined their sweet little moment. He's in the middle of planning a trip to some far flung corner of the globe when Tori's eyelids dip. It's a look that Robbie's never seen from her before. Her usually bright eyes have clouded over and her lips are curled even to slightly.

"Kissing a girl before even taking her to dinner, tsk tsk Mr. Shapiro." She chides, extending her index finger and scolding him like a teacher might. Robbie feels his stomach unclench, and he realizes Tori's not as affronted as she's acting. Maybe, he hopes, she's actually just fooling around.

"Maybe we could stop at Nozu's on the way to your house?" Robbie suggests, cheeks searing red as he fights off his natural shyness. Tori lets loose with a giggle at his obvious motivations, eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Well, I am a little hungry…" She answers, patting her stomach lightly. Robbie's really not sure what to do. He's definitely happy about this development, but it's foreign territory for him. He feels as though he's falling through a tear in the universe and into some kind of beautiful delusion. He does the only thing that seems logical.

He grabs Tori's hand and leads her toward his car.

* * *

**Annnd done. Unless everyone is absolutely foaming at the mouth so more. But this was always meant as a two shot, anyway. **


End file.
